SARAWAK will not be introducing a movement control order (MCO) in the state despite an increasing number of Covid-19 admissions to hospitals since early November, said state Public Health Minister Dr Sim Kui Hian.

Sim, who is also a deputy premier and the minister of housing and local government, said there was no reason to panic as in the current situation, Sarawak, like the rest of the country, was in the endemic phase.

“So, living with the virus is a norm,” he said in a Facebook posting.

He said the symptoms shown in current cases tended to be mild and not life-threatening because many had already been vaccinated.

“The infectivity remains high (though),” he added.

He said if anyone tested positive, they should get Paxlovid, the free oral anti-viral Covid medication, as early as possible for it to be most effective in preventing severe symptoms.

He said he had been assured by the state Health Department that Paxlovid is available at all healthcare facilities, public and private, in Sarawak.

Sim said in Epidemiology Week 49 (EW49), for example, there were 39 admissions to Sarawak hospitals compared to only six cases the previous week.

Out of the 39 cases in EW49, 25 or 64.1% were admitted under category 3 (symptomatic with lung infection), 4 (symptomatic with lung infection and needs oxygen supplementation) and 5 (critical patients with multiple organ complications).

Sim said some people died despite getting four doses of Covid-19 vaccination earlier.

And the current surge, he added, was not the peak of how bad it could be.

He said people could minimise risks of getting infected “by going back to what we have been doing during (the earlier) Covid pandemic, like wearing face mask again in crowded public areas, and paying attention to personal hygiene.

“It’s for each one of us to play our role and do our part again. We Sarawakians did it from 2020-2022,” he said in reference to the state being among those with the lowest number of cases and deaths in the country.

He said if people showed symptoms, they should put the TRISS (test, report, isolate, inform, and seek) system into practice.

Sim said if people felt vulnerable, they should consider getting a second booster (4th dose).

Sarawak’s uptake of the second booster dose was only 3.6%.

Yesterday, Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the number of Covid-19 cases had increased nationwide by 62.2% to 20,696 between December 10 and 16.

However, he said there was no need for movement restrictions for now.

The government had imposed an MCO during the height of the pandemic to help curb the spread of the virus. – December 19, 2023.